While the government and student federations sat down to talk Monday, nearly every sector that depends on tourism reported a significant drop in business.

Some restaurants have seen business plummet by 40 per cent. Hotel reservations are down by 25 per cent and cancellations are increasing. Ticket sales for some festivals, such as Just For Laughs, have dropped by half.

One student group, the CLASSE, linked the renewed negotiations directly with the tourist season.

“We don’t feel a lot of pressure,” spokesperson Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois declared. “The pressure is maybe more on the government. We know that the tourist season is coming. The business sector expects a solution to prevent disruptions.”

The CLASSE and other more militant activists have promised to target the Canadian Grand Prix, a $100-million weekend for Montreal. Organizers are worried that disruptions could prevent fans from getting to the race site.

“Obviously they’re going to use (the tourism card),” said Gilbert Rozon, president of the Just for Laughs Festival. “It’s part of their leverage.”

Rozon said Montreal’s $2.3 billion tourism industry will have to deal not only with the economic damage that has already occurred, but also with how the city’s image can be repaired. “It’s kind of a lose-lose situation,” Rozon said.

Members of the industry discussed repairs at a meeting Monday.

“Montreal’s image abroad has been tarnished,” wrote Charles Lapointe, Tourisme Montréal’s president, in an open letter to Premier Jean Charest, because TV reports and social media have been focusing on the violent confrontations with police.

“For some, they see it and it looks like civil war. They don’t know it’s only in one part of the city, and now things are more pacifist,” Rozon said.

Since February, students from several junior colleges and university departments have been on strike. There have been daily protests and some have turned violent.

The government recently adopted an emergency law to more strictly govern protests, but its detractors say it’s unconstitutional.

The law seemed to give the protest movement a second wind.

Rozon said ticket sales for his festival weren’t singled out because he has come out in favour of the government’s position. Ticket sales for events have been affected across the board, he said.

The president and CEO of Cirque du Soleil also suggested the newest Montreal big-top show, Amaluna, is feeling the impact.

“It’s very, very important to have a solution in the short term,” Daniel Lamarre told TV channel Argent.

Lapointe said people are also losing their jobs as businesses suffer.

The city could be hit in the future, too, as international conventions choose their destination cities years in advance.

Montreal welcomes about 8 million tourists each year. About 32 per cent arrive in the summer. Only 20 per cent come in winter, the rest in spring and fall.

More on thestar.com

We value respectful and thoughtful discussion. Readers are encouraged to flag comments that fail to meet the standards outlined in our
Community Code of Conduct.
For further information, including our legal guidelines, please see our full website
Terms and Conditions.